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Mexican Art

Friday I worked a solid day. On the way home, I walked in Shawnee Park. We had a quiet Friday evening. We ate Market Street, where I had roast chicken, turnip greens and green beans.

This morning I ate a breakfast of Erewhon cereal and skim milk. Perhaps Erewhon is named for the lack of sugar anywhere. I walked Beatrice at 6:45 a.m. During our walk, I saw my first Yellow-Crowned Night Heron of the year. This brings my Collin County species count for the year up to 102 species. At 8:20, I rode my bicycle on the Watters Creek Trail for 55 minutes.

My wife and I headed out at 9:45. We drove my car to Parker Road Station. Then we drove to North Park Mall to meet our friend Cathy. We all consolidated into one car and headed into downtown Dallas. We had tickets for an art exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art. I was looking forward to the exhibit of Mexican art from 1900 to 1950.

We arrived at the museum several minutes before its opening. A long line had formed. This was a really popular exhibit, nearing its conclusion. People were nice--the line snaked around in the shade, as lines should do in July in north Texas.

When it opened, we were able to by-pass the ticket line, because we had bought in advance. We wandered a bit, but finally found the exhibit. The exhibit was really wonderful. It featured lots of fascinating pieces. Some were familiar, like "Los Dos Fridas" and the Calla seller. Some were unknown to me. I liked Manilla's "Indian Woman from Oaxaca" and Olga Costa's "Fruit Seller". I found Manuel Rodriguez Lozano's "Autoretrato" painting in which he faces the viewer wearing a tie and a coat very well done. It was great to see the Rivera, Orozco, Kahlo and Siqueros paintings. This was the best Mexican art exhibit I have seen since a visit to Guadalajara some twenty or so years ago.

I was a bit intrigued by the crowd reaction. One woman behind me in line assured the docent she was only there for 12 minutes or so--to see the Frida Kahlo's quickly and see nothing else in this robust exhibition. Several visitors focused on taking selfies next to the Kahlos. Folks kept tripping off the security alarm indicating they were standing too close to "Los Dos Fridas". I really admire and love Frida Kahlo's work, but she seemed to trigger a fangirl reaction that none of the other amazing art invoked in the crowds. The museum even held a Frida-look-alike event that drew 1,000 Fridas.

Though the exhibition was crowded, it was still a good time. Kahlo-surdity aside, folks were quite polite and friendly. Though I knew a bit about this era of Mexican art, I learned a lot as well. I was not up to speed on the Mexican take on futurism, the Stridentist movement. We all enjoyed this exhibit a lot.

We went to Dallas' downtown park Klyde Warren Park. It was built on a highway bridge. It's got food trucks. I ate a tasty sandwich with chicken, jalapenos, and Texas toast. My wife and Cathy had lobster rolls. Cathy and my wife dropped me off at the St. Paul station. They went on to the Farmers' Market. I rode to Parker Road Station. I walked in Green Park until a storm blew in. I went home and read my book. Then I fell asleep. Meanwhile, the severe storm damaged our crape myrtle trees a bit.

We went to Thai Noodle Wave for dinner. I ate a Thai noodle soup and summer rolls. It was a bit hot but a good meal.